1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a negative electrode active material and a lithium battery including the same.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Demand for secondary batteries has been rapidly increasing. Secondary batteries are used as a power source of portable electronic devices for information communication such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, or notebooks, as well as for electric bicycles, or electric vehicles, and are repeatedly used by being charged and discharged.
Lithium batteries are getting much attention due to their high voltage and high energy density.
Lithium batteries include a negative electrode and a positive electrode, each of which includes an active material enabling intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ions, and an organic electrolyte solution or a polymer electrolyte solution, which fills a space between the negative electrode and the positive electrode. A lithium battery having the structure described above generates electric energy by oxidation and reduction that occurs when lithium ions are intercalated or deintercalated in the positive electrode and the negative electrode.
The negative electrode active material may be a metal negative electrode active material, and currently available metal negative electrode active materials have a high theoretical capacity but may not be easy to use in lithium batteries because they swell during charging and discharging and precipitation of lithium easily occurs. Thus, there is a need to improve properties of metal negative electrode active materials. The present embodiments overcome the above problems and provide additional aspects as well.